Argument Paper "Plato's Apology"

3. Another crucial piece of dialogue is Socrates's discussion of what would happen if they were to acquit him of the charges and allow him to live if he would stop discussing his philosophy. To this line of reasoning Socrates avows that he would not be willing or even able to cease his discussions and his practice of philosophy because he believes it is a task put on him by the gods, 29d paraphrased. This statement displays Socrates's deep need to live a life of integrity. Further he proclaims that were he to live he will continue to “go around doing nothing but persuading both young and old among you not to care for your body or wealth in preference to or as strongly as for the best possible state of your soul” 30a-b. Socrates's main concern is the welfare of the souls of all

If something is knowably evil, one ought to avoid it unless one knows the consequence to be a worse evil.

I had heard of Socrates before in high school, and knew that he was considered by many to be a very important person. Although I did not know just how important he really was to philosophy. Previously I was very reluctant to think about problems such as life after death. Once again I found thinking about these things to be a very uncomfortable experience. Once I started reading the text however I found myself intrigued. I did find Socrates’s idea that his soul would simply separate from his body after death, to be quite silly.

His statement clarifies his reasons for not escaping death. Therefore, Socrates was not clearly right in escaping and would have violated his principles.

This is the start of a whole paragraph, or a long line of Socrates rather, in the dialogue dedicated to the welfare of his children. That he say that it would not make any difference if Socrates is alive or dead, for even if Socrates escapes and hides at Thessaly, surely he would not deprive his children Athenian citizenship, more so, it’s education, then he would still not be with his children, and for that, his friends would take care of them. It is not that his friends would not take care of his children if he’s dead, for if they are really friends to him, they surely will.

After reading the excerpt from the book, I found neither side of the argument to be particularly strong, though Socrates does tend to favor side B. The passage begins with Socrates explaining the difference in the opinions one may have on the subject of death. Side A, he defines, is when a person dies he or she enters a sort of sleep-like state. A powerful, yet peaceful, dreamless state. The person has no perception of the outside world and feels absolutely nothing for the rest of eternity. The argument for side B however, contains the idea that the departed persons soul is transferred from its home in the body to another place, perhaps heaven or another location. It is as if the soul lives on, continuing what it had begun in life.

Socrates has many views on death. Socrates states “For the fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretence of knowing the unknown; and no one knows whether death, which men in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.” He believes he has nothing to fear. He states death is either a long and dreamless sleep or a journey to another place where only good can be found. As a result, he can encounter more old heroes and demigods and as a result gain more wisdom.

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates takes a stance on death by saying that to die is basically equivalent to being blessed. He backs this statement with two arguments as to the possibilities of death. From his perspective, death with no afterlife is to have a lack of awareness or existence. He states that in this nonexistence, death would be like sleeping an eternity. To him, this would feel like a night of deep, restful sleep with an absence of dreams; something that is favorable in his eyes. His second argument states that death with afterlife would also be the opposite of a punishment. Death with an afterlife would take him to be judged by the Gods, who were righteous in their own lives. To Socrates this would be inherently better than being judged by those who claimed to call themselves “jurors” without being just. In this afterlife, Socrates would also have the chance to speak with far more interesting and relatable people than those he was living among.

Despite his attempts however, Socrates is ultimately sentenced to death by the Athenian council. Although the trial concludes with the life of Socrates, he accepts the verdict and is quite welcoming to the idea of death. Socrates concludes that since no mere man knows what lies after death, it would be foolish to fear it. Thus, Socrates has been silenced,

If I were to be presented with the opportunity to escape a prison, in which I would be certainly put to death, I would gladly take that opportunity. I am neither a 70 year-old man nor as unquestioning of Athenian law as Socrates. I would value my life, and what I could possibly do with the years I had left, over abiding to Athenian law. Socrates is seen through the writings of Plato as a wise and moral man; yet, he chooses to die, leaving his sons to grow up without his wisdom and teachings. After he is found guilty, he says, “So he proposes death as the penalty.

However, when death approaches, Socrates accepts it. This brings me to the following question: Why does Socrates seem content with the idea of dying, rather than trying to fight and escape it? It almost seems as though Socrates hits a point of realization that he will not be able to fight the council. I found it very interesting that at the end of the speech, he was ready to take on death. Socrates states that “death would be a wondrous gain” (40d).

Part One Socrates primary emphasis is that death should not be feared as it is the state of nothingness, and unconsciousness, where people’s soul change or migrate from this world to another one. Apparently, many individuals fear this oblivion, but Socrates did not, and he referred it as a significant gain, where a person has that peaceful time to sleep without any disturbances even by their dreams. Again, he viewed it as a heavenly afterlife, where one gets that judgment from those people who are righteous in life. Socrates gives various facts and opinions to support his claim that no one who should ever fear death.

This argument was made to support Socrates decision of not killing himself and waiting for his time to come. As possessions of the Gods, a man does not have the right to take his life, should respect their owners and not harm them self, and take care of them self until their owners decide otherwise. Death plays a role in the study of philosophy because it is an even in ones life that can never be avoided. There are also many arguments and questions to ponder about death such as after life, suicide, and the soul, which lead to many philosophical, debates and

Socrates states that we should not Fear Death Socrates says that we, as human beings should not fear death. He says that the only reason we

Even though Socrates was on his deathbed, he was still teaching and arguing with his students. He wanted his students and friends to understand that it was for the good of society that he dies. I believe Socrates was thinking about the future and how his death would be a lesson for someone else. Socrates was also telling his students that he was not going to disobey the law. Socrates’ students and friends could have taken him to another city. That would have made Socrates a liar about what he was teaching all along. Even though the students and friends were crying and grieving over Socrates’ death, Socrates was not comforting them or fleeing to another city. Socrates was just teaching them his strong belief in justice and loyalty to the government. This was very devastating to his friends.